Scottish Executive

Access to Information

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there have been any instances where information which would not normally be published for reasons of confidentiality under the Code of Practice on Access to Scottish Executive Information has been published on the grounds that the public interest outweighed the harm or prejudice, or risk or reasonable expectation of harm or prejudice, as specified in Part II thereof and, if so, whether it will detail such instances.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Executive does not hold information in the form requested.

  Information on the operation of the Code of Practice is published annually, and the report for 2001 is available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre and on the Executive’s website.

Alcohol Misuse

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how alcohol misuse services are currently being improved.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: The Executive's Plan for Action on alcohol problems , which was published on 18 January, acknowledges that there are gaps in current alcohol problems support and treatment services across Scotland. It requires local Alcohol Action Teams to assess needs in their areas and produce strategies to address these by April 2003. The Executive is currently developing a framework for support and treatment services to act as a guide for local strategies.

Asylum Seekers

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Home Office with regard to the provision of on-site health services for asylum seekers at any accommodation centre at RAF Turnhouse and whether any such discussions have considered any continuing need for such services for those granted asylum after they have left the centre.

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Home Office with regard to the provision of on-site education services for asylum seekers at any accommodation centre at RAF Turnhouse and whether any such discussions have considered any continuing need for such services for children granted asylum after they have left the centre.

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Home Office with regard to the provision of on-site social work services for asylum seekers at any accommodation centre at RAF Turnhouse and whether any such discussions have considered any continuing need for such services for those granted asylum after they have left the centre.

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Home Office with regard to the provision of transportation services for asylum seekers at any accommodation centre at RAF Turnhouse.

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Home Office with regard to the provision of housing services for asylum seekers once they have left any accommodation centre at RAF Turnhouse.

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Home Office with regard to the provision of employment services for asylum seekers once they have left any accommodation centre at RAF Turnhouse.

Ms Margaret Curran: No decision about whether an accommodation centre should be located at the site of the former RAF Turnhouse has yet been taken. Discussions are continuing with the Home Office about arrangements for the provision of on-site services at any accommodation centres that may in future be established in Scotland as well as the continuing need for services for those granted asylum after they have left any such centres.

Care of Elderly People

Iain Smith (North-East Fife) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made in the assessment process for those eligible for free personal care on 1 July 2002.

Malcolm Chisholm: All local authorities are putting arrangements in place to ensure that free personal and nursing care is implemented from 1 July 2002.

Dental Health

Mr Mike Rumbles (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to improve the standard of children’s dental hygiene.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: The Action Plan for Dental Services in Scotland was launched in August 2000, with the aim of improving dental health of children and increasing access to dental services.

  A number of measures have been implemented nationally which target oral health and hygiene in children. These include:

  free distribution of a toothbrush and toothpaste to all children under 12 months;

  targeted distribution to all one- to three-year-olds in deprived areas, and

  enhanced monthly payments to dentists for the delivery of oral hygiene instruction and preventive advice to young children up to the age of five who are registered with them on the NHS.

  In addition, a scheme was introduced in November 2001 aimed at six- and seven-year-olds. Under this, dentists are paid a monthly fee for providing oral hygiene advice and for fissure sealing the first permanent molar teeth to help prevent decay.

Digital Scotland

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria define accessibility to "global connections" as referred to in the Digital Scotland Task Force Report .

Iain Gray: The reference to the importance of "global connections" to Scotland's overall economic performance stems from the Scottish Executive's statement of ambitions for the Enterprise Networks, A Smart, Successful Scotland . Digital connectivity is an important element within this.

  The Executive's report, Measuring Scotland's progress towards a Smart, Successful Scotland identified the criteria used to assess progress in Scotland's digital connectivity as cost and geographic coverage of broadband.

Digital Scotland

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-21259 by Mr Andy Kerr on 21 January 2002, what the key modernising priorities for the public sector are.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Executive's ultimate objective is to provide people with better services, including easy access to information. In pursuit of that, we are committed to joining up delivery across the public sector in Scotland according to citizens' needs. Our key modernising priorities are therefore those activities which support the provision of better public services and offer real benefits to citizens, such as the projects which meet the criteria for our Modernising Government Fund. The four priority areas identified for the second round of the fund are the development of a citizen account/citizen smartcard, datasharing, data standards and e-procurement as set out in the bidding guidance, issued on 19 December 2001 and available at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/government/c21g/round2_bid.pdf.

  We are considering supporting a number of projects in other areas, but which we believe will also support the provision of better public services.

Disabled People

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities enforce penalties on improper use of parking bays for disabled people.

Lewis Macdonald: This information is not held centrally.

Disabled People

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is any duty on local authorities to enforce correct use of parking bays for disabled people.

Lewis Macdonald: Under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, roads authorities have a general duty to secure the expeditious, convenient and safe movement of traffic. This general duty is met by the local authority making Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) which can be introduced for a variety of reasons including the provision of parking bays for disabled people.

  It is a matter for individual authorities to decide how they enforce the correct use of parking bays for disabled people.

Disabled People

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to amend legislation in order to provide a simpler mechanism to allow enforcement of correct use of parking bays for disabled people.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive is participating in the review of the Blue Badge Scheme being conducted on behalf of all four UK administrations by the Department for Transport.

  This review covers all aspects of the scheme including enforcement.

Drug Misuse

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how the results of the current drug driving campaign will be assessed.

Lewis Macdonald: A drug drive television advert, produced by the Scottish Road Safety Campaign with funding from the Scottish Executive, was launched on 20 May. The advert, which demonstrates techniques used by the police to detect drug drivers, is intended to raise awareness of the dangers of drug driving and to convey the message that not only is drug driving illegal, but also that drivers under the influence of drugs run the very real risk of being caught.

  The Executive has commissioned an evaluation of the effectiveness of the advert, particularly in relation to the target group of young drivers. The evaluation is due for completion in the autumn. A report will be published, and copies placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre, as soon as possible thereafter.

Education

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what initiatives it is supporting to promote diversity in school education.

Nicol Stephen: We have a Programme for Government commitment to support "future schools" projects and develop evaluation plans. We will publish details of the range of projects supported later this year.

Education

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to support the groups identified in the HM Inspectorate of Education report Moving on from School to College: Helping young people with additional support needs to make a successful transition .

Cathy Jamieson: Young people with additional support needs are being helped in a number of ways:

  £22.6 million has been allocated by the Executive to implement some of the key recommendations of the Beattie Committee;

  13 Inclusiveness projects, managed by Careers Scotland, have been set up to improve training and employment outcomes for young people;

  FE have extra resources for staff training and development;

  The BRITE Centre has been established at Stevenson College to promote access to assistive technology across the sector;

  Many schools are already following good practice along the lines of the HM Inspectorate of Education report Moving on from School to College;

  A service specification for psychological services for the post-school sector is being developed.

Elections

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-22628 by Mr Andy Kerr on 15 February 2002, when it, local authorities, the Electoral Commission and any other relevant parties will agree on the final proposals for e-voting.

Mr Andy Kerr: We have received no formal proposals to date from councils to run an e-voting pilot at a local government election.

Enterprise

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the resources set aside for the Motorola Task Force has been spent and what percentage of this has been spent on government departments, agencies or non-departmental public bodies.

Iain Gray: Expenditure reports from Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothians for the financial year 2001-02 show costs of £3.3 million.

  Staffing costs for Motorola Taskforce activity account for just over £728,000. These costs can be broken down into actual costs of £339,279, which is the cost of staff seconded to, and recruited specifically for, the Motorola Taskforce, and absorbed costs of £388,894 by the various government departments, agencies and or non-departmental public bodies.

Environment

Brian Fitzpatrick (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has received, or assessment has been made by it or on its behalf, of the environmental benefits of the introduction of "plastax" for certain types of plastic bags following the introduction of such a scheme in the Republic of Ireland in March 2002 and, in the light of such information or assessments regarding any environmental benefits, what support it has given to encourage and promote the provision of paper bags by supermarkets and their use by consumers.

Ross Finnie: No formal assessment has been made by the Executive on the introduction of the plastic bag levy in the Republic of Ireland, but we will continue to watch the effects of the implementation of this scheme.

Epilepsy

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how it proposes to form managed clinical networks to link patient care for people with epilepsy.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive is encouraging health professionals, NHS boards and those representing the interests of patients to work up proposals for Managed Clinical Networks for epilepsy services. We have made it clear that we stand ready to help with funding for the administrative and IT underpinning of these networks.

Epilepsy

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when the managed clinical networks for epilepsy services will be available to all.

Malcolm Chisholm: Text of answerThe Executive is keen to promote the development of these networks and would wish them to be operational as soon as is feasible. Managed Clinical Networks for epilepsy services are now being developed in the following NHS board areas: Ayrshire and Arran; Greater Glasgow; Highland; Lothian, and Tayside. We shall encourage other NHS boards to follow suit.

Fisheries

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many meetings, and on what dates, the Minister for Rural Development has had with European Commissioner Franz Fischler to discuss the Common Fisheries Policy.

Ross Finnie: I met Commissioner Franz Fischler on 10 June 2002 to discuss the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). I have also had informal conversations on the CFP in the margins of various Fisheries Councils.

Fisheries

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any cetacean bycatch problems associated with Scottish pelagic trawlers fishing outside Scottish waters, including the English Channel and western approaches, and what the extent of any such problems is.

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has ever received any reports of any Scottish fishing vessels catching dolphins in the western approaches sea bass fishery.

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of any video footage taken by observers of the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science of dolphins in nets on board Scottish pair trawlers.

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, during a recent Sea Mammal Research Unit monitoring of cetacean bycatch by Scottish pair trawlers fishing for sea bass in the western approaches, 53 dolphins were taken in 12 hauls.

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to ensure that Scottish fishing vessels adopt cetacean bycatch mitigation measures and what its timetable for such action is.

Allan Wilson: The Scottish Executive is aware of cetacean bycatch in the offshore sea bass fishery off South West England and has been working closely with colleagues in the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) to mitigate this.

  In 2000, the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) recorded a bycatch of 15 dolphins over nine days at sea. The Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) of St Andrews University was engaged to monitor the spring 2001 fishery, specifically in relation to cetacean bycatch, to check the CEFAS findings and, if necessary, develop effective mitigation measures. On that occasion monitoring a different Scottish pair trawl recorded the bycatch of 52 dolphins in 12 hauls out of a total of 116 hauls over 71 days at sea. It had been agreed with the Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association and the skippers that, if dolphins were encountered, acoustic deterrents called "pingers" would be fitted to the mouth of the nets. This was done, but without any noticeable reduction in bycatch.

  Last spring SMRU was engaged to trial new mitigation measures involving the use of separator grids and an escape hatch for cetaceans. The new gear was tested on a Scottish pair trawl, again with the active participation of the Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s association and the skippers, but no cases of dolphin bycatch were recorded. The trial is to resume during the next fishery season, in spring 2003.

  SMRU has also monitored other pelagic fisheries in this area, but has recorded no cases of dolphin bycatch.

  If the new mitigation measures prove successful, we and DEFRA will consider their wider introduction, as part of a joint UK Small Cetacean Bycatch Reduction Strategy to address bycatch issues across all UK fisheries. The majority of vessels involved in this particular fishery, however, are French. It is therefore important that any mitigation measures are implemented at EU level also and to this end the UK Government has already made contact with the European Commissioner.

Genetically Modified Crops

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what research has been done to examine the effects on human health from genetically modified crops.

Ross Finnie: Genetically modified crops should not be seen as homogenous in their potential to impact upon human health. Each application to release or market a GM crop is considered individually and each must be supported by information to satisfy the regulatory authorities that it does not pose a threat to human health. Applications will frequently cite published research relevant to the particular health issues raised by a particular genetically modified organism (GMO) or a particular trait. The Health and Safety Executive, the Food Standards Agency and the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment are well placed to take a view on whether a release can take place in safety. Only applications that satisfy these bodies as to their safety are considered for release.

Health

Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to tackle head lice amongst schoolchildren.

Malcolm Chisholm: The responsibility for the management and control of headlice infection lies with local NHS boards and each has agreed a policy with local education authorities and primary care health professionals. The Scottish Executive is reviewing these policies to assist development of national advice to parents and schools on the treatment of headlice.

Health Spending

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which revisions to the target allocation percentages within the Arbuthnott formula (updated in November 2001) were due to (a) changing level of population, (b) changes to the age and sex of the population, (c) changes to the level of deprivation (from the deprivation index, updated in October 2001) and (d) greater consideration of rural and remote access within each NHS board area.

Malcolm Chisholm: Tables 1 and 2 show the percentage changes to the target allocations within the Arbuthnott formula (updated in November 2001) for Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS) (table 1) and GP Prescribing (table 2). Columns 1, 2 and 3 indicate the three component elements of the overall changes:

  1. The change in the population share by health board.

  2. The change in the age/sex structure of the health board’s population.

  3. The change in morbidity and life circumstance (MLC) i.e. deprivation.

  There has been no update of the remoteness adjustment in 2001.

  GP Prescribing (table 2) has been separated from HCHS (table 1) because GP Prescribing uses a different population base. The population base for HCHS is the mid-year estimate (MYE) by Health Board of Residence. For GP Prescribing, the relevant population base is the Community Health Index (CHI) "deflated" for GP list size inflation. GP Prescribing is also based on the Health Board of Management, not the Health Board of Residence (background note - point 3).

  Table 1. Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS)

  

 

1 
  

2 
  

3 
  

=1+2+3 
  



Health Board 
  

Change in MYE Pop. Share 
  

Change in age/sex adjustment 
  

Change in deprivation adjustment 
  

Change in overall Arbuthnott HCHS share 
  



Argyll and Clyde 
  

-0.7% 
  

0.3% 
  

1.1% 
  

0.7% 
  



Ayrshire and Arran 
  

-0.4% 
  

0.5% 
  

0.9% 
  

1.0% 
  



Borders 
  

0.7% 
  

0.7% 
  

1.3% 
  

2.8% 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

-0.9% 
  

1.4% 
  

0.4% 
  

0.9% 
  



Fife 
  

0.5% 
  

0.4% 
  

-0.1% 
  

0.8% 
  



Forth Valley 
  

0.9% 
  

0.0% 
  

0.5% 
  

1.5% 
  



Grampian 
  

-0.2% 
  

0.8% 
  

0.9% 
  

1.4% 
  



Greater Glasgow 
  

-0.6% 
  

-1.5% 
  

-0.7% 
  

-2.9% 
  



Highland 
  

0.2% 
  

0.7% 
  

-0.4% 
  

0.6% 
  



Lanarkshire 
  

0.3% 
  

0.6% 
  

-0.3% 
  

0.6% 
  



Lothian 
  

1.4% 
  

-0.6% 
  

-0.5% 
  

0.2% 
  



Orkney 
  

-0.3% 
  

0.0% 
  

0.4% 
  

-0.1% 
  



Shetland 
  

-1.9% 
  

0.7% 
  

-0.1% 
  

-1.4% 
  



Tayside 
  

-1.0% 
  

0.8% 
  

0.1% 
  

-0.2% 
  



Western Isles 
  

-2.6% 
  

0.7% 
  

0.1% 
  

-1.8% 
  



  Table 2. GP Prescribing

  

 

1 
  

2 
  

3 
  

=1+2+3 
  



Health Board 
  

Change in HBMgt Pop. Share 
  

Change in age/sex adjustment 
  

Change in deprivation adjustment 
  

Change in overall Arbuthnott Prescribing 
  share 
  



Argyll and Clyde 
  

-1.7% 
  

1.1% 
  

0.9% 
  

0.3% 
  



Ayrshire and Arran 
  

-0.4% 
  

1.2% 
  

0.6% 
  

1.4% 
  



Borders 
  

0.8% 
  

1.5% 
  

1.1% 
  

3.4% 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

-0.6% 
  

2.7% 
  

0.4% 
  

2.4% 
  



Fife 
  

0.5% 
  

0.4% 
  

-0.1% 
  

0.7% 
  



Forth Valley 
  

1.3% 
  

-0.2% 
  

0.3% 
  

1.4% 
  



Grampian 
  

-1.3% 
  

0.8% 
  

0.7% 
  

0.2% 
  



Greater Glasgow 
  

0.2% 
  

-1.8% 
  

-0.6% 
  

-2.3% 
  



Highland 
  

0.2% 
  

1.5% 
  

-0.3% 
  

1.3% 
  



Lanarkshire 
  

0.7% 
  

0.1% 
  

-0.3% 
  

0.5% 
  



Lothian 
  

1.7% 
  

-1.9% 
  

-0.2% 
  

-0.5% 
  



Orkney 
  

-1.4% 
  

2.4% 
  

0.4% 
  

1.3% 
  



Shetland 
  

-2.5% 
  

0.9% 
  

0.0% 
  

-1.6% 
  



Tayside 
  

-1.6% 
  

1.5% 
  

0.0% 
  

-0.1% 
  



Western Isles 
  

-3.4% 
  

3.1% 
  

0.0% 
  

-0.4% 
  



  Note:

  HBMgt = health board management.

Health Technology Board of Scotland

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to bring in an appeals procedure in relation to Comments delivered by the Health Technology Board of Scotland on National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidance on Health Technology Assessments.

Malcolm Chisholm: There are currently no plans to bring in an appeals procedure in relation to Comments delivered by the Health Technology Board for Scotland (HTBS) on NICE guidance on Health Technology Assessments. However, HTBS will review a Comment in the light of new evidence on its interpretation of the contextual differences it has identified between Scotland and England and Wales.

Higher Education

Marilyn Livingstone (Kirkcaldy) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to produce guidance on basic standards and best practice for the setting of pay and conditions for university research staff.

Iain Gray: Pay and conditions for all staff are a matter for institutions and employees' representatives.

  In our guidance letter of December 2001, the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council was commended for its role in promoting good practice in relation to contract research staff and was asked to work with Universities Scotland to ensure lessons from initiatives are followed up and good practice embedded.

Housing

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many houses were started and completed in each of the last 10 years and what the estimated starts and completions will be in the current year, broken down into houses for rent, shared ownership or other forms of low cost home ownership, and where grant funding was provided by Scottish Homes or Communities Scotland or directly by it through new housing partnerships or any other initiatives.

Ms Margaret Curran: The information requested is set out in the following tables:

  Approvals

  


Year 
  

HA Rent 
  

LCHO 
  

GRO OO 
  

GRO Rent 
  

RHOG 
  

I&R 
  

Total 
  

NHP 
  

Grand
Total 
  



1992-93 
  

5,307 
  

1,249 
  

1,617 
  

309 
  

34 
  

- 
  

8,516 
  

- 
  

8,516 
  



1993-94 
  

5,179 
  

1,390 
  

1,534 
  

586 
  

63 
  

- 
  

8,752 
  

- 
  

8,752 
  



1994-95 
  

5,182 
  

1,178 
  

2,149 
  

586 
  

72 
  

- 
  

9,167 
  

- 
  

9,167 
  



1995-96 
  

5,164 
  

1,561 
  

1,768 
  

547 
  

67 
  

- 
  

9,107 
  

- 
  

9,107 
  



1996-97 
  

3,661 
  

920 
  

2,117 
  

251 
  

66 
  

- 
  

7,015 
  

- 
  

7,015 
  



1997-98 
  

3,084 
  

668 
  

1,391 
  

133 
  

45 
  

- 
  

5,321 
  

- 
  

5,321 
  



1998-99 
  

3,518 
  

549 
  

1,558 
  

135 
  

44 
  

- 
  

5,804 
  

- 
  

5,804 
  



1999-2000 
  

4,381 
  

301 
  

1,817 
  

138 
  

50 
  

- 
  

6,687 
  

834 
  

7,521 
  



2000-01 
  

4,751 
  

193 
  

890 
  

120 
  

51 
  

- 
  

6,005 
  

1,673 
  

7,678 
  



2001-02 
  

4,865 
  

318 
  

1 
  

113 
  

55 
  

- 
  

5,352 
  

1,777 
  

7,129 
  



2002-03 
  

3,789 
  

61 
  

618 
  

104 
  

59 
  

62 
  

4,693 
  

2,000 
  

6,693 
  



  Completions

  


Year 
  

HA Rent 
  

LCHO 
  

GRO OO 
  

GRO Rent 
  

RHOG 
  

Total 
  

NHP 
  

Grand
Total 
  



1992-93 
  

2,799 
  

754 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

3,553 
  

- 
  

3,553 
  



1993-94 
  

Included in 1995-96 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  



1994-95 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  



1995-96 
  

5,959 
  

1,100 
  

946 
  

258 
  

67 
  

8,330 
  

- 
  

8,330 
  



1996-97 
  

3,625 
  

592 
  

1,806 
  

571 
  

66 
  

6,660 
  

- 
  

6,660 
  



1997-98 
  

4,216 
  

659 
  

600 
  

172 
  

45 
  

5,692 
  

- 
  

5,692 
  



1998-99 
  

2,080 
  

543 
  

547 
  

12 
  

44 
  

3,226 
  

- 
  

3,226 
  



1999-2000 
  

3,547 
  

639 
  

940 
  

44 
  

40 
  

5,210 
  

920 
  

6,130 
  



2000-01 
  

4,209 
  

504 
  

1,481 
  

104 
  

48 
  

6,346 
  

1,409 
  

7,755 
  



2001-02 
  

4,570 
  

245 
  

1,253 
  

59 
  

52 
  

6,179 
  

1,321 
  

7,500 
  



2002-03 
  

3,914 
  

213 
  

906 
  

150 
  

64 
  

5,247 
  

2,000 
  

7.247 
  



  Note:

  The units shown above relate to Scottish Homes/Communities Scotland development programme and the New Housing Partnership Regeneration and Development programme.

  The figures quoted in 1995-96 take account of completions in 1993-94, 1994-95 and 1995-96 for which individual records are not available.

  Key

  HA Rent = Housing Association Rent

  LCHO = Low Cost Home Ownership

  GRO OO = Grants for Rent or Ownership – Owner Occupation

  GRO Rent = Grants for Rent or Ownership – Rent

  RHOG = Rural Home Ownership Grants

  I & R = Improvement and Repair

  NHP = New Housing Partnerships

Housing

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what its targets are for the completion or conversion of affordable houses for rent through registered social landlords in the current and future years.

Ms Margaret Curran: The target for housing association completion for rent in 2002-03 is 3,914 units. Targets for future years are still to be determined.

Housing

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many affordable houses for rent it calculates will be needed over the next decade to (a) meet the needs of emerging and concealed households and (b) replace below tolerable standard stock and other stock liable to be closed, demolished or taken out of use.

Ms Margaret Curran: The number of affordable houses needed for rent is a matter for local authorities to determine through their Local Housing Strategies.

Land Reform (Scotland) Bill

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to question S1W-26446 lodged on 5 June 2002, whether any public benefit may be obtained from any value accrued to the owners of salmon fishings, sporting rights and mineral rights as a result of any increase in the market value of their holdings arising as a consequence of the wider market in such assets following the introduction of a right to buy under Part 3 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill.

Ross Finnie: The introduction of the right to buy under Part 3 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill will not widen the market for salmon fishings, sporting rights and mineral rights. There is nothing at present to prevent crofting communities from purchasing such holdings when they are placed on the market. As the market is not widened by the bill proposals there can be no expectation that competition for these assets will increase and thus push up the value as a result of implementation of the legislation.

Maternity Services

Janis Hughes (Glasgow Rutherglen) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that every woman is made aware of the dangers of drinking alcohol whilst pregnant.

Malcolm Chisholm: A Framework for Maternity Services in Scotland, published Feb 2001, recognised that all women of reproductive age should be empowered and encouraged to be as healthy as possible. NHS boards were given clear action points and recommendations to address the health promotion needs of school age children and women of reproductive age.

  NHS board strategies have been audited against the principles laid out in A Framework for Maternity Services in Scotland. As part of this audit, NHS boards were asked to provide information about how health promotion and education are being taken forward locally with particular reference to alcohol and pregnancy. The results show that all NHS boards are taking measures to raise awareness of the dangers of alcohol consumption during pregnancy. These measures include issuing to all first-time mothers the HEBS booklet Ready Steady Baby, which contains a section on alcohol.

Mental Health

Dennis Canavan (Falkirk West): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to introduce legislation to allow doctors to perform lobotomies on patients who are too mentally ill to agree to the operation.

Malcolm Chisholm: The forthcoming Mental Health Bill will provide an appropriate opportunity to debate the sensitive issue of neurosurgery for mental disorder.

Planning

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive which of the 65 notified cases affecting trunk roads and special roads, as listed in Table 6 of the 2001 Fourth Annual Report of the Planning Audit Unit , were called in by ministers for determination; what the outcome was in each case, and what steps it takes in cases cleared back to local authorities for determination to ensure that consents are refused or conditioned in order to reflect the consultation responses given by it on matters affecting trunk roads and special trunk roads.

Hugh Henry: The 65 notified cases listed in Table 6 of the Fourth Annual Report of the Planning Audit Unit were not all correctly attributed to the appropriate local authorities as a result of a printing error. The table in the report has now been corrected in line with the undernoted, which also provides the additional information requested.

  When a planning application is cleared back to a planning authority for determination it is for the authority to have regard to any consultation responses received. Once an application has been cleared back in this manner, statute does not provide the Scottish ministers with any further powers to intervene.

  Notified Planning Applications Affecting Trunk and Special Roads April 1996 to March 2001

  


Council 
  

Notified 
  

Called-In 
  

Call-In Revoked 
  

Application Withdrawn 
  

Granted 
  

Refused 
  



Aberdeen City 
  

1 
  

1 
  
 

1 
  
 
 



Aberdeenshire 
  

4 
  

2 
  
 
 

2 
  
 



Argyll and Bute 
  

3 
  

1 
  
 
 
 

1 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

7 
  

3 
  
 
 

1 
  

2 
  



Dundee 
  

1 
  

1 
  
 
 

1 
  
 



Edinburgh 
  

1 
  

1 
  
 
 

1 
  
 



Highland 
  

29 
  

22 
  
 

2 
  

11 
  

9 
  



Midlothian 
  

2 
  

1 
  
 
 
 

1 
  



Moray 
  

2 
  

2 
  
 
 

1 
  

1 
  



North Ayrshire 
  

1 
  

1 
  

1 
  
 
 
 



North Lanarkshire 
  

2 
  

2 
  
 
 
 

2 
  



Perth and Kinross 
  

2 
  

1 
  
 
 
 

1 
  



Scottish Borders 
  

8 
  

5 
  
 
 

1 
  

4 
  



South Ayrshire 
  

1 
  

0 
  
 
 
 
 



Stirling 
  

1 
  

1 
  
 
 
 

1

Planning

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-12749 by Mr Sam Galbraith on 21 February 2001, whether it has completed its consideration of how best to make information available as referred to in respect of paragraph 75 of National Planning Policy Guidelines No.1 (revised 2000) and, if so, how the information will be made available.

Hugh Henry: Since Mr Galbraith’s reply, the Planning home page has been launched on the internet:

  www.scotland.gov.uk/planning.

  This provides access to an array of planning information including links to legislation, circulars, National Planning Policy Guidelines, Planning Advice Notes, research documents and consultation papers. It also provides information on planning applications which come before the Scottish ministers showing, on a weekly update basis, the current status of each case.

  In addition, as indicated in Ms Margaret Curran’s letter of 5 June to all MSPs, the Executive’s Inquiry Reporter’s Unit launched their own website on 5 June:

  www.scotland.gov.uk/planning_appeals/seiru.

  This site provides ready access to information about the unit, the various types of planning and other appeals and their respective procedures. Within the site, links are provided to appeal forms, relevant legislation, circulars, national policy and advice. Work has already started on an enhancement of the site to provide a search of delegated planning appeals and to view progress on these. It will also be possible to view and retrieve appeal decision letters online and without charge. It is expected that this additional facility will become available in the autumn although the timing is dependent on data protection issues being resolved.

  The use of ICT to provide and receive planning related information is constantly under review and further refinements will be introduced as appropriate.

Police

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the overtime budget for each police force was in each of the last three years and this year to date (a) in total and (b) as a percentage of the overall wage budget for each force.

Mr Jim Wallace: Information on overtime budgets for each police force in each of the last three years and this year to date is not held centrally. Actual expenditure on overtime for the latest three years available is shown in the first table below. The second table shows overtime as a percentage of expenditure on pay including overtime but excluding national insurance and allowances.

  


Actual Expenditure on Overtime (£000) 
  


 

1998-99 
  

1999-2000 
  

2000-01 
  



Central 
  

1,299 
  

2,129 
  

2,547 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

879 
  

981 
  

1,005 
  



Fife 
  

1,266 
  

1,908 
  

1,690 
  



Grampian 
  

2,925 
  

3,347 
  

2,543 
  



Lothian and Borders 
  

3,199 
  

4,788 
  

4,295 
  



Northern 
  

1,221 
  

1,945 
  

1,877 
  



Strathclyde 
  

14,163 
  

20,022 
  

18,512 
  



Tayside 
  

1,508 
  

2,346 
  

1,986 
  



Total 
  

26,460 
  

37,466 
  

34,455 
  



  


Overtime as a Percentage of Actual Expenditure on Police 
  Pay 
  


 

1998-99 
  

1999-2000 
  

2000-01 
  



Central 
  

7.1% 
  

10.7% 
  

12.1% 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

8.2% 
  

9.2% 
  

8.9% 
  



Fife 
  

5.9% 
  

8.4% 
  

7.3% 
  



Grampian 
  

9.1% 
  

10.0% 
  

7.5% 
  



Lothian and Borders 
  

4.9% 
  

7.0% 
  

6.1% 
  



Northern 
  

7.1% 
  

10.5% 
  

9.9% 
  



Strathclyde 
  

7.7% 
  

10.2% 
  

9.3% 
  



Tayside 
  

5.3% 
  

8.1% 
  

6.6% 
  



Total 
  

7.0% 
  

9.4% 
  

8.4%

Police

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost was, showing any consultancy costs separately, of the Scottish Police Activity Analysis 2001 to (a) it and (b) each police force.

Mr Jim Wallace: The cost to the Scottish Executive was £22,200, which was all consultancy costs. Information on costs incurred by police forces is not held centrally.

Police

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give a breakdown by police force of the £1.4 million allocated to forces following the terrorist attacks in the United States of America on 11 September 2001.

Mr Jim Wallace: The funding was spread across all eight Scottish forces. Just over half was allocated to Strathclyde Police and Lothian and Borders Police, with the balance spread amongst the other six forces.

Police

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of officers at each rank within (a) each police force and (b) the Scottish Crime Squad at 31 March 2002 was female.

Mr Jim Wallace: The information requested is shown in the following table. There were no female chief constables. The Scottish Crime Squad was replaced by the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency (SDEA) on 1 April 2001.

  Percentage of Female Strength by Rank at 31 March 2002

  


Force 
  

Assistant Chief Constable 
  

Superintendent 
  

Chief Inspector 
  

Inspector 
  



Central 
  

- 
  

- 
  

6.7% 
  

4.8% 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

8.7% 
  



Fife 
  

- 
  

- 
  

7.1% 
  

2.7% 
  



Grampian 
  

- 
  

5.6% 
  

- 
  

3.4% 
  



Lothian and Borders 
  

- 
  

9.4% 
  

6.8% 
  

6.3% 
  



Northern 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

3.1% 
  



Strathclyde 
  

16.7% 
  

4.9% 
  

8.5% 
  

5.7% 
  



Tayside 
  

- 
  

8.3% 
  

11.8% 
  

3.8% 
  



Total 
  

5.3% 
  

5.2% 
  

7.2% 
  

5.5% 
  



Secondment to SDEA 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  



  


Force 
  

Sergeant 
  

Constable 
  



Central 
  

7.8% 
  

17.1% 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

6.8% 
  

23.7% 
  



Fife 
  

3.3% 
  

21.2% 
  



Grampian 
  

10.9% 
  

22.1% 
  



Lothian and Borders 
  

8.4% 
  

20.1% 
  



Northern 
  

6.6% 
  

20.6% 
  



Strathclyde 
  

8.2% 
  

17.8% 
  



Tayside 
  

23.9% 
  

20.4% 
  



Total 
  

8.7% 
  

26.4% 
  



Secondment to SDEA 
  

8.3% 
  

13.4%

Police

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of officers at each rank within (a) each police force and (b) the Scottish Crime Squad at 31 March 2002 was from ethnic minority groups.

Mr Jim Wallace: The information requested is shown in the following table. There were no officers from ethnic minority groups above Chief Inspector. The Scottish Crime Squad was replaced by the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency (SDEA) on 1 April 2001.

  Percentage of Officers from Ethnic Minority Groups by Rank

  

 

Chief Inspector 
  

Inspector 
  

Sergeant 
  

Constable 
  



Central 
  

- 
  

- 
  

0.9% 
  

0.2% 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

0.3% 
  



Fife 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

0.4% 
  



Grampian 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

0.5% 
  



Lothian and Borders 
  

2.3% 
  

0.7% 
  

0.3% 
  

0.9% 
  



Northern 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

0.4% 
  



Strathclyde 
  

- 
  

- 
  

0.2% 
  

0.9% 
  



Tayside 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

0.4% 
  



Total 
  

0.4% 
  

0.1% 
  

0.2% 
  

0.7% 
  



Secondment to SDEA 
  

- 
  

- 
  

- 
  

1.0%

Police

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many officers recruited into each rank within (a) each police force and (b) the Scottish Crime Squad from April 2001 to March 2002 were female.

Mr Jim Wallace: The number of female officers recruited to each police force from April 2001 to March 2002 is shown in the following table. Information by rank is not held centrally.

  


Force 
  

Number of Female Officers Recruited 
  



Central 
  

3 
  



Dumfries and Galloway 
  

3 
  



Fife 
  

24 
  



Grampian 
  

12 
  



Lothian and Borders 
  

42 
  



Northern 
  

8 
  



Strathclyde 
  

95 
  



Tayside 
  

25 
  



Total 
  

212 
  



  The Scottish Crime Squad was replaced by the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency (SDEA) on 1 April 2001. Officers are not recruited directly to the SDEA but are seconded from forces. Between April 2001 to March 2002, nine secondments of female officers took place - one sergeant from Grampian, four constables from Strathclyde, two constables from Grampian and one constable each from Fife and Lothian and Borders.

Police

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many officers recruited into each rank within (a) each police force and (b) the Scottish Crime Squad from April 2001 to March 2002 were from ethnic minority groups.

Mr Jim Wallace: From April 2001 to March 2002 there were nine officers in total from ethnic minority groups recruited to Scottish police forces - three to Lothian and Borders and six to Strathclyde. Information by rank is not held centrally.

  The Scottish Crime Squad was replaced by the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency (SDEA) on 1 April 2001. Officers are not recruited directly to the SDEA but are seconded from forces. No secondments of officers from ethnic minority groups took place between April 2001 and March 2002.

Prison Service

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S1W-25569 and S1W-26060 by Mr Jim Wallace on 24 and 30 May 2002 respectively, why the performance points accrued under measure 2.1(i) of Schedule F of the Minute of Agreement between the Secretary of State for Scotland and Kilmarnock Prison Services Limited for the Design, Construction, Management and Financing of a Prison at Kilmarnock are not a multiple of 10 in the first two years, if all security breaches relate to areas to which Category B prisoners had access and therefore every breach incurred 10 performance points.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  A single breach, in each of the two years, took place in areas to which only Category C or D prisoners had access.

Prison Service

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S1W-25569 and S1W-26061 by Mr Jim Wallace on 24 and 30 May 2002 respectively, why the performance points accrued for year three under measure 2.2(a) of Schedule F of the Minute of Agreement between the Secretary of State for Scotland and Kilmarnock Prison Services Limited for the Design, Construction, Management and Financing of a Prison at Kilmarnock are shown as 235, when the sum of performance points for one serious injury assault at 50 points, four minor injury assaults at 20 points each (80 points total) and 30 no injury assaults at 5 points each (150 points total) is 280.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The 30 "no injury" assaults reported in the answer to question S1W-26061 for year three was an error. The correct figure should have been 21.

Prison Service

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost to it at March 2001 prices was of the independent engineer engaged to monitor the progress of work on HM Prison Kilmarnock in accordance with section 11.4 of the Minute of Agreement between the Secretary of State for Scotland and Kilmarnock Prison Services Limited for the Design, Construction, Management and Financing of a Prison at Kilmarnock .

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  £194,226, excluding VAT.

Rural Development

Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what arrangements it has made for publication of the report of the Agriculture and Environment Working Group.

Ross Finnie: The report will be published today at my morning press briefing at the Royal Highland Show. Copies have been sent to the Rural Development Committee of the Parliament and are available from the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. number 22035) The report has also been placed on the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Development website

Schools

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what will happen to those bids by local authorities for funding of school improvements which are unsuccessful in the current bidding rounds.

Nicol Stephen: We expect to announce decisions on the bids from local authorities for financial support for school PPP projects soon.

Schools

Karen Whitefield (Airdrie and Shotts) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to upgrade school playgrounds and community play areas.

Cathy Jamieson: While I support the principle that such facilities should be in good condition, decisions on plans to upgrade them are matters for the local authorities who are responsible for their management.

Scottish Executive Expenditure

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much advertising expenditure by media type is planned for each month in each of its departments in 2002-03.

Mr Andy Kerr: Planned advertising expenditure by media type for 2002-2003 is shown in the following tables:

  Justice Department

  


£ 
  

April 
  

May 
  

June 
  

July 
  

August 
  

Sept 
  



TV 
  

58,801 
  
 

11,220 
  
 

28,090 
  
 



Radio 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 



Press 
  

22,972 
  

3,580 
  
 
 
 
 



Outdoor/Ambient 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 



Cinema 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 



  Health Department

  


£ 
  

April 
  

May 
  

June 
  

July 
  

August 
  

Sept 
  



TV 
  

 90,684 
  

201,022 
  
 
 

226,560 
  
 



Radio 
  

 72,205 
  

 36,361 
  
 
 

 24,238 
  

 8080 
  



Press 
  

119,218 
  

151,596 
  

104,888 
  

 14,855 
  

 14,855 
  

 23,186 
  



Outdoor/Ambient 
  

118,899 
  

 74,933 
  
 
 

 59,000 
  
 



Cinema 
  

 32,417 
  
 

 10,735 
  

 17,843 
  

 21,240 
  

 7080 
  


 

Oct 
  

Nov 
  

Dec 
  

Jan 
  

Feb 
  

Mar 
  



TV 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 



Radio 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 



Press 
  

 14,855 
  

 14,855 
  

 14,855 
  

 14,855 
  

 14,855 
  

 14,855 
  



Outdoor/Ambient 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 



Cinema 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 



  Development Department

  


£ 
  

April 
  

May 
  

June 
  

July 
  

August 
  

Sept 
  



TV 
  

115,246 
  

136,069 
  

 98,510 
  
 
 
 



Radio 
  
 

 52,350 
  
 
 
 
 



Press 
  

 13,293 
  
 
 
 
 
 



Outdoor/Ambient 
  
 
 

 57,236 
  

 2301 
  

 2301 
  

 2301 
  



Cinema 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 



  Education Department

  


£ 
  

April 
  

May 
  

June 
  

July 
  

August 
  

Sept 
  



TV 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 



Radio 
  

 47,616 
  

 15,872 
  
 
 
 
 



Press 
  

 42,076 
  

 25,950 
  
 
 
 
 



Outdoor/Ambient 
  

 31,860 
  
 
 
 
 
 



Cinema 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 



  Environment and Rural Affairs Department

  


£ 
  

April 
  

May 
  

June 
  

July 
  

August 
  

Sept 
  



TV 
  
 
 

139,695 
  
 
 
 



Radio 
  
 
 

 32,187 
  
 
 
 



Press 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 



Outdoor/Ambient 
  
 
 

 28,674 
  
 
 
 



Cinema 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 



  The campaign details, by department, are as follows:

  


Justice Department Media Spend 
  



Domestic Abuse 
  

£40,021 
  



Crime Brakers 
  

£17,242 
  



Fire Prevention 
  

£67,400 
  



Total 
  

£124,663 
  



  


Health Department 
  



Drugs 
  

£706,258 
  



Breathing Space 
  

£51,664 
  



Alcohol Misuse 
  

£458,977 
  



Organ Retention 
  

£67,789 
  



Care in the Community 
  

£206,522 
  



NHS Helpline 
  

£27,832 
  



Total 
  

£1,519,042 
  



  


Development Department 
  



Foolsspeed 
  

£168,418 
  



Safe Cycling 
  

£32,510 
  



Drug Driving 
  

£194,700 
  



Summer Drink Drive 
  

£83,979 
  



Total 
  

£479,607 
  



  


Education Department 
  



National Debate on Future of Education 
  

£163,374 
  



Total 
  

£163,374 
  



  


Environment and Rural Affairs Department 
  



Travel Awareness 
  

£200,555 
  



Total 
  

£200,255

Scottish Executive Publications

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the full costs have been of publishing, printing and distributing each edition to date of its Active Communities newsletter and how many copies of each edition have been printed.

Ms Margaret Curran: The cost of publishing, printing and distributing each edition of the Active Communities newsletter is as follows. However, only estimated costs can be provided on the latest newsletter, as final invoices are yet to be received. Moreover, over 16,000 copies of the latest newsletter have been distributed, 4,000 more than the earlier editions.

  


Edition 
  

Cost 
  



Newsletter 1 
  

£10,273 
  



Newsletter 2 
  

£9,792 
  



Newsletter 3 
  

£18,183 (estimated figure)

Scottish Higher Education Funding Council

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, with regard to its news release SE5003/2001 of 10 December 2002, what difference the guidance to the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council on contract research staff and the £500,000 funding for human resource management have made.

Iain Gray: The Scottish Higher Education Funding Council (SHEFC) has allocated the £500,000 funding to assist with the implementation of the new condition of grant on human resource policies and management. This condition of grant covers the management of all staff, including contact research staff, and came into effect on 1 April 2002.

  The majority of the additional resources have been allocated to institutions to assist in their preparations for the introduction of the condition. Institutions can use these resources in any way to assist, develop and implement strategies and policies to bring about improvements in relation to the management of all staff, including contract research staff. The remaining funds are being used by the council to assist its own preparation for the introduction of the condition.

  In responding to the guidance received from the minister on 10 December 2002, SHEFC will work with Universities Scotland to report annually on the distribution of contract research staff in Scottish higher education institutions.

Scottish Higher Education Funding Council

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received a report from the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council on contract research staff and, if so, what the key findings of the report are; what follow-up action is planned, and whether the report will be published.

Iain Gray: In the ministerial guidance to the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council (SHEFC) in December 2001, which applies to the year 2002-03, the council was asked to supply an annual report on the position with regard to information on contract research staff within higher education institutions in Scotland. The timing of that report is a matter to be agreed with SHEFC in the light of its advice on the best means of collecting this information.

  SHEFC is currently developing options for collecting this information and for monitoring progress which it intends to discuss with Universities Scotland. In doing so, it will draw on the report by the Institute for Employment Research on the career destinations of contract research staff in Scotland. This report was commissioned jointly with the ESRC, the Welcome Trust, the Carnegie Trust and the Scottish Executive and was published in December 2001.

Smoking

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it is supporting initiatives to encourage people to stop smoking.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: The Scottish Executive is pursuing a wide range of measures to reduce levels of smoking. This includes funding for health education and prevention activities, smoking cessation services and provision of NRT and Zyban on prescription.

  This week I launched the Partnership Action on Tobacco and Health Initiative with funding of £1.5 million over the next three years.

  Other initiatives are aimed at reducing smoking in public places and the workplace, the introduction of a UK-wide ban on tobacco advertising and measures to improve the enforcement of the law relating to illegal sales of tobacco.

Taxation

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail all specific correspondence it has had with Her Majesty’s Government in connection with the new 10% supplementary charge to the existing corporation tax on oil and gas company profits announced in the UK Budget 2002 and its impact on the Scottish economy.

Lewis Macdonald: No. The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on a wide range of issues, including taxation matters.

Voluntary Sector

Mr Kenneth Macintosh (Eastwood) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the contribution that volunteering makes to the advancement of its policies.

Hugh Henry: Volunteering is an important part of life in Scotland and makes a significant contribution to the achievement of the Executive’s social justice objectives. The impact of volunteering on Scottish Executive policies is being measured as part of an evaluation of the Active Communities Initiative. The evaluation, which is a three-year study, with the first annual report due later this year, has been commissioned by the Active Communities Forum.

  The forum brings together representatives from the Scottish Executive, public, private and voluntary sectors and is charged with overseeing the initiative. Its mission is to develop a better understanding of the impact of the Active Communities initiative in Scotland; encourage participation in the initiative; develop an overview of the work being undertaken, and inform and make recommendations to me.

Young People

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the First Minister what measures the Scottish Executive is taking regarding the protection and security of young missing persons.

Mr Jack McConnell: Children and young people are at the heart of our agenda.

  Services for young runaways are provided by a wide range of statutory and voluntary agencies. We also support preventative work to help tackle the underlying causes of running away.

  Ministers have established a working group to consider support for young runaways, guidance for professionals and effective early intervention and we will consult on their proposals when we receive their report.

Young People

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-26264 by Cathy Jamieson on 5 June 2002, whether it will name each member of the Working Group on Young Runaways and Children Abused through Prostitution.

Cathy Jamieson: The Working Group on Young Runaways and Children Abused through Prostitution consists of a number of officials from across the Executive and the experts listed in the table:

  


Daljeet Dagon 
  

Barnardo’s Scotland 
  



Stella Everingham 
  

Aberlour Child Care Trust 
  



Kathleen Harper 
  

Crown Office 
  



Martin Henry 
  

Edinburgh and Lothians Child Protection Committee 
  



John Hosie 
  

Community Education Managers Scotland 
  



Anne Houston 
  

ChildLine Scotland 
  



Inspector Gordon Hunter 
  

Association of Chief Police Officers Scotland 
  



Donald MacKenzie 
  

Association of Directors of Social Work 
  



Moira McKinnon 
  

Glasgow City Child Protection Committee 
  



Stephen McLeod 
  

The Big Step, Social Inclusion Partnership 
  



Ian Mitchell 
  

Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration 
  



Marion Pagani 
  

Children’s Panel Chair’s Group 
  



  The membership of the group is not fixed and as work progresses other individuals, including those with direct experience of the key issues, will be included where appropriate.

Young People

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what specific issues are being considered by the Working Group on Young Runaways and Children Abused through Prostitution.

Cathy Jamieson: The Working Group on Young Runaways and Children Abused through Prostitution is considering a wide range of issues including preventative strategies; guidance to professionals and promotion of good practice. This work is being taken forward within the context of the Executive’s commitment to improve the quality of life for Scotland’s children and deliver better outcomes for the most vulnerable and deprived children through more effective and integrated delivery of children’s services.

Young People

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive,  further to the answer to question S1W-26266 by Cathy Jamieson on 5 June 2002, which local authorities have taken steps to provide short-term refuges for children and whether it plans to issue guidance to local authorities on this matter.

Cathy Jamieson: Local authorities have powers under the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 to provide short-term refuges for children. This could involve provision in a residential establishment or in the household of a foster carer or other approved carer.

  The need for guidance on refuge provision is one issue which will be considered by the Working Group on Young Runaways and Children Abused through Prostitution.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Holyrood Project

Ms Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer, further to his answer to question S1W-10684 on 9 November 2000, how the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body and the Holyrood Progress Group will ensure that, following the insolvency of Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd, new contractual arrangements for the supply of granite for the new Parliament building will ensure that the granite is neither quarried by children nor produced under conditions at variance with the Ethical Trading Initiative and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989.

Sir David Steel: It is the responsibility of the appointed Trade Contractors to provide proof that all materials being used in the project are obtained from responsible and ethical sources, in accordance with the contract documentation. The insolvency of Flour City Architectural Metals (UK) Ltd does not affect that principle and the Holyrood Progress Group is satisfied that suitable checks on the sources of granite being procured for the project are being made. The vast majority of the granite to be used at Holyrood is being obtained from Kemnay Quarry in Aberdeenshire.